Bridge Road Carriage Sheds.

The new carriage sheds at Holt known as Bridge Road Carriage Sheds, have been built to provide covered storage for our historic rolling stock both restored and un-restored. The North Norfolk coast is not the ideal location to store old vehicles and the sheds will protect them from damage caused by sun and rain.

There are two sheds, each having two sidings. The shorter, western, shed is 63m/207' long and the longer, eastern, shed is 100m/308' long. These have the capacity to store 14 carriages or 11 carriages plus the Quadart set. The sidings in the shed and in the yard have a combined length of 540m/1770'

The cost of the scheme was £419,000 and was constructed with the help of a substantial grant of £308,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. . We were awarded the grant in April 2006, construction began in October 2006 and was substantially complete by May 2007. The external works including a lineside path from Holt Station were completed in January 2008.

Click here for a plan of the BRCS.

(All photos by Bob Wright except where stated)

21 October 2006
The 1 in 53 entrance ramp was excavated by the permanent way department to enable them to start installation of the entrance turnout before the main earthworks were carried out. The visiting Standard tank 80135 passes the site

The beginning of the excavation works on 10th November 2006. The excavator's first task was to remove the tree roots from the shed site.

 

The site on 25th November 2006. 1200m3 of excavation and 1500m3 of filling were required to create the flat site ready for the building works to commence
 

The building was designed and constructed by Milne Partnership. The first foundations were cast on 14th December 2006 and were all completed by Christmas.
Around 100m3 of concrete were used, delivered in 18 loads. We were fortunate that the weather stayed dry and allowed these to cross the field to the site without mishap

20 December 2006. The project benefited from the generous donation of 900 yards redundant track panels from Network Rail's relaying site at nearby West Runton.
Balfour Beatty Rail Infrastructure Services brought the panels by rail to the unloading point at West Runton Church. Thanks to the co-operation of Beeston Regis Caravan Park and the Church we were able to use their access to load our lorries. Our permanent way gang helped with the loading and cast envious eyes at the modern equipment available to the 'big railway'.

20 December 2006. Over a three day period just before Christmas special long trailered lorries from SC Fabrications, escorted by the Police, carried the track through very foggy conditions to Holt Station where they were unloaded in the entrance area using a Hiab crane on their tractor unit.

 

8th January 2007.
The steel frame was quickly erected. Here on 8th January 2007, the frame of the shorter shed is almost completed
 

To squeeze the track layout into the site we had to construct a retaining wall between the 1:53 access ramp and the mainline. The Building department used Gabion baskets filled with flint to build the wall. The DRB railbus passes the works on 4th February 2007

 

The cladding is near completion as the J15 passes the site on 17th February 2007
 

(Photo: Richard Gausden)

25th February 2007
With the cladding complete the length of the sheds became apparent. Vent strips have been provided at ground level and at the ridge to allow ventilation and prevent condensation on the carriages to be stored inside

11 March 2007
The permanent way department started laying the new trackwork in March. Here
the first sleepers have been laid towards the distant sheds.

The TRAMM was the first vehicle to enter the new carriage yard, it is seen here on 7th April at end of the sidings.

 

11 May 2007
By early May siding 2 was also complete. Sidings 3 and 4 within the longer shed were also laid awaiting completion of two sets of points

With the doors fitted the sheds were complete on 16th June 2007. The last siding into the longer shed was laid later in the summer

December 2007-all four roads have now been laid. The sheds and showing how have been constructed to be as unobtrusive as possible amongst the surrounding trees.
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Aerial shot taken in February 2008 showing the completed sheds and again demonstrating how they have been constructed to be as unobtrusive as possible amongst the trees.
The lineside path from Holt Station was finished in January 2008

(Photo by John Durrant)
 

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